The Road from Karakol

The Road from Karakol traces a complete circumnavigation of the globe, undertaken entirely independently by the author over the course of seventeen months. This journey was completed without the backing of governments, media, sponsors, or NGOs—and without the presence of social media followers. It covers more than 150,000 kilometers across over thirty countries by land, air, and sea. It recounts hundreds of nights spent in a hammock or a tent in the planet’s most remote corners; in abandoned buildings, cemeteries, a children’s slide, a ship in the middle of a desert, a boutique hotel, and a Russian jail cell.

This daring venture, exploring the thin line between courage and recklessness, begins in the deep Colombian provinces—territory of guerrillas and drug lords—and continues through the Amazon, the Andes, Patagonia, Oceania, the Himalayas, the steppes of Central Asia, and the deserts of Iran. Along the way, the author interacts with people from all walks of life: from thieves and heroin addicts to members of high society; from peaceful Buddhists to Taliban fighters with Kalashnikovs. Through these encounters and his reflections on history, politics, and religion, the author remains profoundly engaged and never indifferent.

The narrative is an emotional roller coaster that lifts the reader to the heights of wonder at the beauty of life, only to plunge them into the depths of sorrow and loss before bringing them back again. More than just a journey to the ends of the earth, The Road from Karakol is a journey to the furthest reaches of the self.